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Ex-general Daniel Ménard's move to UAE cost National Defence $40K

National Defence paid nearly $40,000 to move a disgraced general to the United Arab Emirates after he was court-martialled for having sex with a subordinate and trying to cover it up, expense records for the military's top brass show.

Menard relieved in 2010 as combat commander in Kandahar

National Defence paid almost $40,000 to move former Canadian brigadier-general Dan Menard from the Montreal area to the United Arab Emirates following his court martial for having sex with a subordinate and obstruction of justice. (Murray Brewster/Canadian Press)

National Defence paid nearly $40,000 to move a disgraced general to the United Arab Emirates after he was court-martialled for having sex with a subordinate and trying to cover it up, expense records for the military's top brass show.

The revelation about former brigadier-general Daniel Ménard is in the same set of records that show retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie was allowed to claim more than $72,000 for a move within Ottawa after he left the military.

Ménard, who was relieved in 2010 as combat commander in Kandahar, had already resigned from the military when he pleaded guilty in 2011 to having improper relations with a corporal under his command, and trying to impede an investigation into their affair.

The Department of National Defence allows a retiring member of the Canadian Forces up to two years to claim a final relocation expense, which is then approved and audited. It also pays the full relocation costs for serving members.

Policy under scrutiny

The policy is under scrutiny following revelations about how much it cost to relocate Leslie — a high-profile adviser to the Liberals on defence and foreign policy who is widely expected to run in the next federal election — from his east Ottawa home to a new house just minutes away.

But the full list of expenses, which outlines the moving costs paid to senior military leaders between 2008 and 2013, raises questions that go well beyond Menard and Leslie.

It shows at least three other officers billed taxpayers in 2010 a total of $47,495 for moves between Afghanistan and Ottawa, Halifax and Kingston, Ont.

The members were deployed as part of the Canadian mission; it's unclear what the expenses entailed. The largest of those three claims totalled almost $38,000.

Leslie, in defending his expenses on the weekend, said he was entitled to make the claim. The Liberals described the release of the information as a political smear by Conservatives eager to dent Leslie's political ambitions.